Understanding Bagua

The Bagua, an important concept in the Confucian classic "Zhouyi", also known as "Jing Gua", refers to the "Zhouyi" in the eight basic figures. Gua shape by the Yang lines "-"

The origin of gossip, there are various speculations, one said that originated from the knot rope to change the book deed, the yang lines on behalf of the big knot, the yin lines on behalf of the small knot; said that originated in the worship of procreation; said that imitation of divination turtle signs; said that represents a primitive text; said that originated from the yarrow arrangement of the way. Among them, as a divination tool yarrow single change is more reasonable.

"Yi Chuan - Department of Rhetoric," said, "the ancient king of the Baosi ?ti world also," "began to make eight trigrams, in order to pass the virtue of the gods, in order to classify the feelings of all things." ① Spring and Autumn and Warring States, gossip has been associated with certain specific meanings, namely: Qian symbolizes the sky, light, jade, the king, the son of heaven, the father; Kun symbolizes the earth, silk, horse, mother, all, smooth, warm, safe, positive, thick;

Kan symbolizes the water, Chuan, the crowd, the man, labor, strong, and; away from the symbols of the fire, the sun, the bird, the bull, the public, the Husband, the Nun, and so on. The most important of them are the two hexagrams of Qian and Kun, comparing them to yang and yin, heaven and earth, parents, as the first source of all phenomena in nature and human society.

The interpretation and study of "Zhouyi" in the Han Dynasty was part of the prophecy and weft science, which formed the trigrams of gas. The so-called trigram gas, according to the Han Zheng Kangcheng, "Yiwei Jidian map" volume on the note:

"The hexagrams are sixty-four trigrams, the gas is used when the effect of gas, temperature, cold, clear and turbid, such as their own. ② is to be easy to match the climate calendar, with Kan, Li, Zhen, Tui with the four directions and four times, known as the four hexagrams or four-way Bur, four hexagrams of the 24 hexagram lines were matched to the twenty-four seasons, will be the first lines of the Lord of the winter solstice, summer solstice, the equinoxes, the equinoxes. In order to restore, Lin, Tai, Dajiang, decisive, dry, coping, recluse, no, view, peeling, Kun and other twelve hexagrams with December, known as the twelve message hexagrams or twelve open hexagrams. December trigrams *** there are seventy-two lines, with seventy-two waiting. Sixty-four hexagrams in addition to the four hexagrams known as sixty hexagrams, sixty hexagrams *** three hundred and sixty lines, with a year of three hundred and sixty-five and a quarter of the day, each hexagram with six and eighty percent of the seven days, the world called the six days seven minutes. Gua qi said the emergence and development, in order to predict natural and man-made disasters, is to "Zhouyi" to explain what is happening and will happen, therefore, is for the "regime of divine authorization" of the ruling class of the interests of the service.

After the Han Dynasty, like the development of mathematics, and gradually combined with the art of fortune-telling and so on, "Yi Wei Qian Chisel degree" has Taiyi line of nine palaces of the method, the North and South Dynasties evolved into the Qimen recluse art, with ten stem of the ethyl, propyl and ding for the three Qi, to the penta-hexa-hexa-xin-non-non-decade for the six instruments, three Qi and six instruments were placed in the nine palaces to the uniformity of the A, depending on its addition to the advent of the lucky and the lucky, in order to tend to avoid.

Later generations of various fortune-telling techniques are also gossip and the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches to match the calculation of human destiny. Han Dynasty, with the natural magnets cut into the "Sinan" appeared, gossip and the four directions, the five elements, twenty-eight hosts with the formation of geomancy of the rationale and the shape of the law. In determining the location of homes, orientation and selection of grave orientation, also commonly used gossip. Qing Dynasty prevalent "eight house mirror", is to distinguish between residential direction according to the trigrams, said Qian, Tui, Burgundy, Kun for the West four houses, away from the, Zhen, Xun, Kan for the East four houses. East four houses can only live in the four lives of people belonging to the East, West four houses can only live in the four lives of people belonging to the West. House room layout also according to the "nine stars" (i.e., hexagrams change) flow inferred that the door, bed, housing with the auspicious side, toilet and miscellaneous rooms with the evil side, and so on.

After the Han Dynasty, the development of Yi Yi science, a part of the history of Chinese philosophical thought. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Wang Bi put forward the idea of "to reach the meaning of the image, to express the image with words": "The image is the one that comes out of the meaning; the word is the one that names the image. There is nothing like an image to fulfill one's meaning, and nothing like words to fulfill one's image." That "touching the class can be its image, and righteousness can be its sign", therefore, people can "find words to view the image", "find the image to view the meaning of", ③ focusing on the "Laozi" of the meaning of the interpretation of the hexagrams of the meaning of the metaphysical. Most of the Song and Ming philosophers were critical of mathematics, and Cheng Yi said, "There is reason and then there is an image, and there is an image and then there is a number. Yi" because of the image to understand the reason, by the image and know the number. Get its meaning, then the number of elephants in which carry on. If you want to exhaust the hidden and subtle image, and exhaust the number, you are looking for the end of the stream, which is what the artists are looking for, but not what the Confucians are looking for." ④ rationalists to moral personnel exposition of the "Yi" theory, Zhu Xi believes that "cover the" Yi "is not compared to" poetry "book", it is to say all the world's endless bottom of the world of affairs, "and people must be experiencing the world's many events, read the" Yi "to know that each one of the reasoning, the examination of the end of the correct". ⑤ He also disagreed with Cheng Yi's interpretation of the lines of the dry hexagrams as Yu Shun's claim that he had become an emperor from the status of a commoner through the hearing of the time and the trial, pointing out that "Cheng's interpretation of the Yee is not the original meaning of the Yee, but it is also infinite. (6) In Zhu Wengong Bieji, Zhu Xi explicitly proposed to combine the two methods of study of the Zhouyi, "to be the first divination and divination decision to seek the original meaning of the scriptures, and then explain the biography, then the meaning of its fate of the word, and its origin of the reason, can be gradually and see it. (7) after the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, as a symbolic system of symbols of the "gossip" research and interpretation, basically a continuation of the historical school of mathematics and the school of logic.

Some people think that the thought of "Zhou Yi" and Taoist thought have **** the same place, but the "Laozi" in the eight trigrams and a variety of trigrams in the narrative. Zhuangzi" in the "Zhouyi" said "Yi" to guide the yin and yang "is" a hundred schools of thought "of one kind. (8) the Han Dynasty, "Huainanzi" about the "Zhou Yi", said it is "six arts" one, just has been "six arts" and "Road" linked to the "six arts and all the same way", in the "Strategy" and said: "Today," the "Yi" of the Qiankun enough to poor road through the idea, gossip can be aware of the good and bad luck, know the blessing and misfortune carry on, however, Fuxi for the sixty-four changes, the Zhou room to increase to the hexagrams, so the original measurement of the way of the Qing Shuk and sorted by the ancestor of all things. " 9 means that people can change the trigrams through the eight trigrams to "poor Tao Tongyi". In the "Tongxuanzhenjing" ("Wenzi") and the subsequent book of "Chongxu Zhidezhenjing" ("Liezi"), there are also many of the "Zhouyi", eight trigrams and the "Hetu" "Luoshu", but they are also borrowing the "Yi" theory to "poor Dao Tongyi" only.

Early Taoist Taiping Dao, in the "Taiping Jing" also to the Yi Yi gossip to "poor Taoism". Volume 72 has "fasting think God save death know-how," said: "gossip Qiankun, the body of heaven and earth, there are still Huo prisoners abolished less gas time, not to mention the people?" Meaning that the gossip of the trigrams change, reflecting the birth and death of heaven and earth, the rise and fall of the old gas changes. Volume one hundred and seventeen of the "sky blame four people insult Road commandments," also said "the name of the sky is born as the father, the name of the earth is raised as the mother, due to the six armor twelve sons of gossip gas as a discipline, more phase to phase, so the way of heaven is always in the non-destructive, is often the work of the ShiHua also", but also the gossip as the heaven and earth, "more phase to phase" of the changes of the discipline. Of course, the Taiping Dao was also affected by the Han Dynasty "trigram gas", and the theory of trigram changes absorbed as a means of expressing their doctrinal thinking, volume 19 of the "three for a family of Yang fire number five know-how," said the a son is the sky, b ugly is the ground is positive, prop c is the person is positive, "these three, all the people of heaven and earth the beginning of the beginning of the first, the fundamental thing is also. The first born is Yang, Yang of this heaven and earth and human vitality. Therefore, Qian Kan Burgundy Zhen, in the northeast of the face, which and between Kan Burgundy, yin and yang were born in the center".CD However, another early Taoist school of five-doumei Dao, in its "Laozi want to Er Note" of the remnants of the scrolls, but only the five elements of the idea of mutual reproduction to explain the Taoist idea, and no Bagua hexagrams change of the words. Eastern Jin Dynasty, Ge Hong in the "Hold Parker Zi Nei" that "the Road to include Qian Kun, the original nameless", meaning that the two hexagrams are contained in the Road, is the embodiment of the Road, however, Ge Hong also think that Yi just "Milan yin and Yang", the other "can not be added", "good" Yi "who" can not answer some of the problems between heaven and earth, such as: "the degree of heaven and earth, the four seas of the vastness of the universe to go, where for a number of reasons, on what pole, where the next, and how many reasons, and how the next. What is the limit of the upper part of the world, what is the basis of the lower part of the world, and what is its rotation, and who is to be guided by it", and so on.

According to "hold Park Zi internal chapter - Reverie" recorded in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there has been "gossip Fu", and called it "big Fu also", CE can be speculated, the time of the Taoist Church has been the divinization of the trigrams of the gossip for the sending of the gods and ghosts of the Fu map. It seems that the development of the Yi school of doctrine did not leave any significant traces in the process of constructing the Taoist doctrinal system. To the quiet way, the law of the calendar can not fit, I have a strange weapon, is born in the image, gossip Azi, God's pivot ghosts hide, yin and yang phase victory of the art, clear into the elephant carry on".CF the end of the Tang and the Fifth Dynasty Tan Cliff's "Book of the Chemical" also said: "Tao refined the five elements, the way of the fire, too; the popularity of the infinite, the way of the water, too; gossip ring around, the way of heaven and earth, too; the gods and things are born, the way of change, too." CG from the above quote in the discussion of the important scriptures can be seen in the Taoist doctrine system of thought, the significance of the gossip trigrams, always stayed as a symbol of the understanding and exposition of the way of heaven and earth, the change of all kinds of symbols above.

Taoist internal alchemy in the treatise, the eight trigrams of the elephant mathematical theory has been widely used. Written in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Taoism's "king of danjing" is a book that combines the Zhouyi, Huanglao and the art of refining and nourishing, and expounds on internal and external refining with the science of elephant numbers. After the Tang and Song dynasties, the internal alchemy gradually replaced the external alchemy, no matter the South Sect, the North Sect, or the Chinese, East Sect, West Sect, in their internal alchemy writings, most of them use the Bagua hexagrams to explain some of the difficult to communicate the problem. Li Daochun's Zhonghe ji has a poem entitled "Self-accomplishment," the second of which reads: "Everything that has been done is dust.

Poorly comprehend all physics, and let go of this mind and body. I have been able to find a place for meditation everywhere, and I am always happy to be in the realm of truth. He believed that only by understanding the essence of the I Chouyi can one truly let go of one's mind and body and grasp the essence of "non-action" in cultivation.

Kan-Li is the name of two hexagrams, the shape of which is "Li in emptiness, Kan in fullness". In the writings of Neidan, Kanli refers to the drug, that is, the human essence, qi and god.

Zhu Xi said: "" Sen Tong Qi "said" Kan Li, water and fire, dragon and tiger, lead and mercury "of the genus, just interchangeable name, in fact, only the essence of the two only. Essence, water. Kan, dragon, mercury. Gas, fire. Away from the tiger, lead, too. The method: to the God transport essence of qi into dan, yang qi in the lower, the first into the water, to fire refining is condensed into dan." CI "Zhouyi Sen Tongqi" said "Kan Li Crown head, shine down", CJ means: to recognize and master the Kan moon away from the sun is an important item in the internal alchemy, only to place the Kan Li in the first, in order to make the sun and moon shine down. The internal alchemists through the kanli hexagrams and their changes, the reasoning is: leave the internal refining drug "essence", the human internal alchemy is unable to carry out the practice, as the world lost the sun and the moon as the same.

Qiankun, is also the name of the two trigrams, the trigram shape is "Qian Sanlian, Kun six segments. In the work of internal alchemy, Qian Kun refers to the tripod, that is, the body's internal refining parts, roughly equivalent to the upper and lower Dantian. Wujin Zhuan" said "the first Qiankun for the tripod, the second Tuan rabbit medicine to cook", "the furnace tripod method of Qiankun, the exercise of the essence of the system of the soul".CK means, recognize and master the internal refining part is also an important one in the art of internal alchemy. According to the orientation of the eight trigrams, dry for the head, equivalent to the upper dantian part; Kun for the abdomen, equivalent to the lower dantian part.

The fire is another important element to be recognized and mastered in the art of internal alchemy. The Guide to the Chenxu Bai Gauge states, "There are three essentials of Neidan, saying: the Xuanmao, the drug, and the fire." The CL ancients also said that the sages passed on the medicine but not the fire, and that the fire was never known to few. This means that alchemists regarded the theory and operation of fire as a secret and never passed it on to outsiders. It is also said in "The Book of Enlightenment": "The Qigong Danjing speaks the truth, but does not write about the fire in the text. If you want to know where the secret lies, you have to **** the true immortals carefully." CM means that the fire is extremely difficult to express in words, only to be understood, and only with the cultivation of kung fu "true immortals" can be discussed, outsiders can not be understood by listening or watching. The internal alchemists also describe the fire with trigram changes to make all sorts of analogies. "Zhou Yi Sen Tong Qi" said: "Shodan Tuen straight thing, to the twilight of the Montanist when receiving" ND generally believe that the 30th day of January with the hexagrams, remove the four hexagrams of Qiankun Kanli, Tuen Meng refers to the first day and night of the two hexagrams of the trigrams. However, Nei Dan practitioners use the phrase "TUN MUN MUN" as the law of the fire. Huang Yuanji in the Qing Dynasty in the "Le Yutang discourse" in the admonition of disciples: "I see the birth of Yang such as Sheng, into the fire at the time, has not yet been clear to the Yi Tao Tuen Mun Twilight Meng the real law. Cover the easy Tuen Gua, Kan in the upper for medicine, to Kan in a Yang Sheng also. Zhen in the lower for the fire, in order to quake under the sun, that is, into the fire also.

When you meet Yang Sheng, no matter how it is the exchange of air, slightly with the slightest true intention, the lower injection coccyx, that the true essence of a gas, from the former smooth line, to this point, not allowed to him to go along with, and mean up, and the smooth line of the way when the road was blocked, along the way both blocked, no far to go, the natural gas to the top and rise. From the back and up, is bound to the mud pills, this natural reason, there is no guide and then rise, lead and then on the person. Twilight take the meaning of Meng, why? Meng Kan water in the lower, there is a sun, that is, the medicine in the lower also. Burgundy mountain in the upper, there is a Yang, Yang that is the retreat of the charm, the charm that Yang Qi rose in the mud pills. Warming a piece of time, turned into manna and water, the real all the transformation of the Yang, not really Yin. To its line of work to this point, the essence into gas, gas into Dan, it is appropriate to walk down the road, it is not appropriate, such as when advancing into the fire, the transport of rigid gas, so it is called Yin Fu." NE Qing Dynasty Taoist Liu Yiming in the "Elephant Words to break the doubt" in the internal alchemists to the trigrams to elaborate on the laws of the Dan Dao has made a summary: "Dan scriptures are borrowed from the 64 hexagrams, for the yang fire and Yin Fu of the law. To Qiankun two trigrams for the furnace, take its yang and yin and soft for the body; Kan Li two trigrams for the drug, take its rigidity and flexibility for the use of also. Copulate with the two hexagrams for the junction of yin and yang. Taking the use of its rigid and soft have their own season. Tuen Mun two hexagrams for the beginning of the creation, take it when into the fire and must be used just, when the fire and must be used soft also. Since it is not the end of the creation, it takes its Yang fire and uses the rigid, not too much, and the Yin symbol and uses the soft, not less than also. The rest of the 54 hexagrams are with the Qiankun, Kanli, copulate with Tuen Mun and not yet ten hexagrams used, naturally. About it, always with the yin and yang quite, two and unity, return to the mixed image and has been." NF Liu Yiming's summary shows that the internal alchemist writings and trigrams, is not the "Zhouyi" of the study of the meaning and mathematics of the elephant itself what kind of innovation and breakthroughs, at best, only the "Yi" of the elephant of mathematics of a kind of application. Therefore, the Song Dynasty Zhang Boduan in the "Wujin chapter" to remind the later students: "This is a good idea to rest seeking the image, if the study of the group lines tirades of love." NG means that people who read the Dan scriptures to learn internal alchemy, do not be overly confined to the science of the number of elephants, otherwise it will be laborious and futile, in vain.

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